Sustainability

A storage facility for second-hand items at ScrapsKC.

As Landfills Approach Capacity, Upcycling Gains Momentum

As Kansas City area landfills approach full capacity, more people are embracing upcycling as a sustainability strategic to divert waste.

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Jeff Broberg examines water from a spring on April 11, 2024, near Altura, Minnesota.

Farm to Trouble: Mississippi River Basin Farm Runoff Pollutes Upstream Waters

Worsening local effects on health and recreation in Midwest states are spurring action on problems that also cause the Gulf of Mexico’s chronic “dead zone.”

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A man stands behind a table with several signs displaying photos and prices of cuts of chicken. In the center, he has a sign that reads "Double Up Protein Bucks Accepted Here!"

Lawrence Farmers’ Market Rolls Out Double Up Program for Protein

The Lawrence Farmers’ Market has launched a grant-funded program that allows SNAP recipients to stretch their dollars to buy more protein products.

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Thomas Olander, on his boat in Cypremort Point, Louisiana, shows off the nets his family uses to catch shrimp in Vermilion Bay.

Farm to Trouble: At the Mouth of the Mississippi, Louisiana Bears the Burden of Upstream Runoff

A dead zone at the mouth of the Mississippi River in Louisiana caused by runoff from farms up river will be nearly twice as large this year as in 2023.

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Fertilizer runoff from farmland, like these farms seen along the Mississippi River in Missouri on April 24, 2024, is a major contributor to the dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico.

Farm to Trouble: As Conservation Lags, so Does Progress in Slashing Gulf’s ‘Dead Zone’

As a federal deadline looms to reduce nutrient runoff into the Gulf of Mexico by 20%, tile drainage, livestock and fertilizer use have made success unlikely.

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